6.  The applicants are:
1) Ms Zareta Khamidovna Gaziyeva[1], born in 1973,
2) Ms Radima Abdul-Malikovna Shakhmurzayeva, born in 2001 and
3) Mr Rakhim Abdul-Malikovich Shakhmurzayev, born in 1999.
7.  The applicants live in the village of Chechen-Aul, in the Grozny district of Chechnya. The first applicant is the wife of Abdul-Malik Shakhmurzayev, born in 1968. The second applicant is his daughter and the third applicant is his son.
8.  At the material time the village of Chechen-Aul and its premises were under full control of the Russian military; checkpoints manned by military servicemen were located on roads leading to and from the settlement.
9.  In the afternoon of 8 February 2001 three APCs (armoured personnel carriers) blocked the road between the village of Chechen-Aul and the Grozny-Shatoy motorway. The APCs’ registration numbers were covered with mud. The men who had arrived in the APCs were stopping every car driving by on the road. They were wearing black masks and uniforms and were carrying portable radios. They behaved like an organised group with a chain of command. It appears that the group belonged to division Don-100 of the North-Caucasian Military Circuit of the Internal Troops of the Ministry of the Interior (Дивизия Северокавказского округа внутренних войск “Дон-100”).
10.  That afternoon Abdul-Malik Shakhmurzayev was driving a ZIL-130 lorry in the direction of Chechen-Aul. Earlier that day he had picked up two fellow villagers, Mr Malik Z. and Mr Gilani M., to give them a lift to Chechen-Aul.
11.  At about 3 p.m. Abdul-Malik Shakhmurzayev’s lorry was stopped by the group of servicemen in APCs. He and the two passengers were told to step out of the vehicle and lie face down on the ground to answer the servicemen’s questions.
12.  Abdul-Malik Shakhmurzayev refused to lie down on the ground and said that he would answer the questions standing. One of the servicemen told him: “You will not only lie down, you will crawl and bark like a dog if we say so” and three of the servicemen started swearing and beating him with rifle butts. The beating was witnessed by three other persons who had also been stopped by the same group of servicemen: Mr S., Mr G. and Mr Yu.
13.  After the beating Abdul-Malik Shakhmurzayev was put in one of the APCs and taken away. The two passengers Abdul-Malik Shakhmurzayev had picked up earlier that morning were also detained. The servicemen also detained the drivers of two other ZIL lorries, who were also beaten up but let go in the evening of 8 February 2001. These drivers, Mr Yu. and Mr G., came to the applicants and told them about the arrest of Abdul-Malik Shakhmurzayev.
14.  On 9 February 2001 the first applicant went to the military commander’s office in the nearby village of Gikalo. There she spoke to an officer who refused to reveal his name. He confirmed that Abdul-Malik Shakhmurzayev had been arrested on 8 February 2001 by military servicemen, but stated that no charges had been brought against him. The two men to whom Abdul-Malik Shakhmurzayev had given a lift on 8 February had also been arrested.
15. On 9 February 2001 the applicant went to the Urus-Martan district military commander’s office. There she met an officer who told her that Abdul-Malik Shakhmurzayev and his two passengers were being held in the “Tangi-Chu pits” in the village of Tangi-Chu (also spelled Tenghi-Chu).
16.  The applicants’ description of the circumstances surrounding the abduction of Abdul-Malik Shakhmurzayev was based on the witness statements provided by the applicants to the Court: a statement by the applicants’ relative Mr R. S., an account of the events by Mr S. (undated); an account of the events by witness Mr G. dated 30 September 2003; an account of the events by witness Mr E. dated 30 September 2003; an account of the events by witness Mr Yu. dated 30 September 2003 and on a hand-drawn map of Chechen-Aul.
17.  The Government did not dispute the facts as presented by the applicants. In their memorandum they stated “.... in connection with the abduction on 8 February 2001 by unidentified persons of the residents of Chechen-Aul, Mr Malik Z., Mr Abdul-Malik Shakhmurzayev and Mr Gilani M., who had been taken away [by the abductors] to an unknown destination, the Grozny district prosecutor’s office of Chechnya opened criminal case no. 19074 under Article 126 § 2 [of the Criminal Code] (aggravated kidnapping)”.
18.   Referring to the information received from the investigation into the abduction of Abdul-Malik Shakhmurzayev, the Government submitted the following information concerning the circumstances of his abduction.
19.   On 18 June 2001 the investigators questioned Mr Kh.Z. and Mr A.M., relatives of the disappeared men, who stated that their fellow villagers had told them that on 8 February 2001 at about 4 p.m. military servicemen stationed in a former canning factory in Gikalo had arrested Abdul-Malik Shakhmurzayev, who had been driving a ZIl-131 lorry, together with two passengers he had picked up earlier that day. In the evening of the same day the three men had been taken to the headquarters of the Russian military unit located at the canning factory. On 9 February 2001 the arrested men had been taken to the premises of the DON-100 military unit in the village of Tangi-Chu. Three days later the military servicemen had returned the ZIL lorry to the Shakhmurzayevs and had explained that on 11 February 2001 the arrested men had been handed over to the Urus-Martan military commander’s office.
20.  On 27 July 2001 the investigators questioned the applicants’ relative Mr U.G., who stated that on the morning of 8 February 2001 his relative Abdul-Malik Shakhmurzayev had borrowed his ZIL-131 lorry to go to the village of Oldy for oil waste products and that after that he had disappeared. Some time later the witness had found out that Abdul-Malik Shakhmurzayev and his two passengers had been detained at a road-block in Chechen-Aul and taken to Gikalo. On 9 February 2001 the witness had been informed by his acquaintances that A.-M. Shakhmurzayev and the two other men had been transferred to Urus-Martan, where the head of the local administration informed them that the three detained men had been transferred from Urus-Martan to the village of Tangi-Chu.
At a later date the investigators questioned the witness again, and he stated that he had learnt that on 8 February 2001 Abdul-Malik Shakhmurzayev had picked up two residents of Chechen-Aul, Mr M. Zubkhadzhiyev and Mr G. Magomadov, to give them a lift to the village. They had been driving from Gikalo to Chechen-Aul when their lorry had been stopped by unidentified persons in camouflage uniforms, who had detained the three men. Their relatives had started searching for them; they had found out that initially the three men had been taken to the military commander’s office in Gikalo, which was located in a former canning factory, and that afterwards they had been taken to the village of Tangi-Chu in the Urus-Martan district of Chechnya.
21.  On 28 July 2001 the investigators questioned the applicants’ relative Mrs M.G., who provided a statement similar to that of Mr U.G.
22.  On 24 December 2001 the investigators questioned Mr A.Kh., who stated that on 8 February 2001 at about 4 p.m. he had been driving to Chechen-Aul in his VAZ-2104 car. Abdul-Malik Shakhmurzayev’s ZIL lorry had been driving in front of him in the same direction. At the entrance to the village a group of unidentified armed masked men in two APCs had been checking the identity documents of those who had been passing by on the road. The witness had seen that the three men from Abdul-Malik Shakhmurzayev’s lorry had been taken out and put in one of the APCs, which had driven away. On the following day, he had found out that these three men were A.-M. Shakhmurzayev, M. Z. and G. M.
At a later date the investigators questioned the witness again, and he stated early in 2001 he, together with his cousin Mr I.K. and another young man, had been travelling in a VAZ car from Grozny to Chechen-Aul. At the entrance to the village they had been stopped by a group of unidentified men in two APCs. The men were armed and were wearing camouflage uniform. They had taken the witness and his passengers out from the car, checked their identity documents and made them put their hands on the boot. Three or four lorries with tanks for oil waste products were parked between the APCs. Several men were lying face down on the ground. One of them jumped up and tried to run away. One of the men in camouflage uniform had shouted at him “Stop!” and had fired twice. The man who had attempted to run away fell to the ground and started screaming: “Kill me!” It appeared that this man had been wounded. After that several men in camouflage uniform put the wounded man in the APC, saying “You were told not to run away.” Several other detained men were also put in the same APC. After that the men in camouflage uniform said: “Let’s get ready, we are leaving”. After that the witness and his passengers managed to get back in their car and drove away. After that the witness arrived at the market in Chechen-Aul where he told his fellow villagers what had happened.
23.  On 24 December 2001 the investigators also questioned Mr B.Sh., Abdul-Malik Shakhmurzayev’s brother. The witness stated that on 8 February 2001 Abdul-Malik Shakhmurzayev, Malik Z. and Gilani M. had been driving from Gikalo to Chechen-Aul. At the entrance to the village they were stopped, taken out of the vehicle and taken to the military commander’s office in Gikalo. In the morning of 9 February 2001 the witness had gone to the military commander’s office, where he was told that the men had been transferred to the Urus-Martan department of the Federal Security Service (the Urus-Martan FSB). The witness had not been able to obtain any information about his brother in Urus-Martan.
24.  On an unspecified date the investigators questioned Mr A.M., Gilani M.’s brother. The witness stated that residents of Chechen-Aul had told him that on 8 February 2001 his brother had gone to Gikalo with Malik Z. to have their pictures taken for the driver’s licence. At the entrance to Chechen-Aul they had been taken out of the vehicle and taken to the military commander’s office in Gikalo. In the morning of 9 February 2001 the witness had visited the office, where he had been told that the men had been handed over to officers of the Urus-Martan FSB. The witness had not been able to obtain any information about his relative in Urus-Martan.
25.  On 22 May 2002 the investigators questioned Mr R.R., Abdul-Malik Shakhmurzayev’s neighbour, who stated that his fellow villagers had told him that when Abdul-Malik Shakhmurzayev had been driving in a ZIL-131 lorry from Gikalo to Chechen-Aul he had picked up two passengers, Malik Z. and Gilani M. Two other residents of Chechen-Aul had been driving in another ZIL-131 lorry behind Abdul-Malik Shakhmurzayev’s vehicle. These two residents of Chechen-Aul had also been apprehended by the same servicemen and taken together with Abdul-Malik Shakhmurzayev and his passengers to the military commander’s office in Gikalo. These two men had been released two hours later and they had informed the applicants about the arrest of Abdul-Malik Shakhmurzayev and his passengers.
At a later date the investigators questioned the witness again, and he stated that on 8 February 2001 he had been driving from Grozny to Chechen-Aul. At the entrance to the village he had met his fellow villagers Mr L.D. and another man, who had told him that about ten minutes previously a group of unidentified persons in APCs had taken away Abdul-Malik Shakhmurzayev, Malik Z. and Gilani M. From what he had heard the witness also had understood that one of the men taken away had been wounded. According to the witness, he had learnt that the men had been taken to the former canning factory in Gikalo, where the local military commander’s office and a unit of the Russian military was stationed at the time. Some time later the three men had been taken somewhere in the Urus-Martan district.
26.  On an unspecified date the investigators questioned Mr I.R., who gave a statement similar to that of Mr R.R.
27.  On 27 May 2002 the applicants and their relatives wrote to the Grozny district prosecutor’s office (the district prosecutor’s office) and provided the following details concerning the circumstances of Abdul-Malik Shakhmurzayev’s abduction. On 8 February 2001 he was driving from Gikalo to Chechen-Aul in ZIL-131 lorry. At the turning for Chechen-Aul he picked up two residents of Chechen-Aul to give them a lift to the village. At the entrance to Chechen-Aul his vehicle was stopped by a group of military servicemen in two APCs. When the lorry stopped one of Abdul-Malik Shakhmurzayev’s passengers tried to run away. However, he was caught by the servicemen, who took all three men to Gikalo. From there the men were taken to another place. The lorry was returned to the Shakhmurzayevs. Three days after the arrest Abdul-Malik Shakhmurzayev and his two passengers were handed over to the Urus-Martan FSB. However, when the applicants and their relatives visited the Urus-Martan FSB, an officer had told them that the three men had never been transferred to their department. In August 2001 a man who had been detained in the Urus-Martan FSB at some point prior to August 2001 had told the applicants that he had seen Abdul-Malik Shakhmurzayev in a cell at the Urus-Martan FSB and had even spoken to him.
28.  On an unspecified date the investigators questioned Mrs Z.A., Abdul-Malik Shakhmurzayev’s sister, who stated that her brother A.-M. Shakhmurzayev had been working as a driver and transporting oil waste products in a ZIL-131 lorry. On 8 February 2001 he went to work. On the same day she found out from residents of Chechen-Aul that he and two other men from their village had been detained by unidentified men in camouflage uniform who were driving around in three APCs. Eyewitnesses had told her that they had seen a group of men in camouflage uniform who had stopped her brother’s lorry at the entrance to the village. One of the men had tried to escape, but he was wounded in the leg and caught. The men in APCs put Abdul-Malik Shakhmurzayev, Malik Z. and Gilani M. into one of the APCs and drove away in the direction of the military commander’s office in Gikalo, which was in a former canning factory.
29.  On an unspecified date the investigators questioned Mrs L.Ya, Mrs M.A. and Mr I.I., all of whom stated that at the beginning of 2001 on the outskirt of Chechen-Aul unidentified persons in camouflage uniform had taken away three of their fellow villagers, Abdul-Malik Shakhmurzayev, Malik Z. and Gilani M.
30.  Referring to the report of an officer of the Grozny district department of the interior (the ROVD) the Government submitted that “in 2001 on the premises of the former canning factory [in Gikalo] a unit of the Internal Troops of the Ministry of the Interior had been stationed for some time”.
31.  The Government also pointed out that the applicants had never informed the domestic authorities about the eyewitnesses to the detention and the alleged beating of Abdul-Malik Shakhmurzayev.
32.  The first applicant was assisted in the search for her husband by Abdul-Malik Shakhmurzayev’s sister. They contacted, both in person and in writing, various official bodies, such as the Chechen administration, military commanders’ offices and prosecutors’ offices at different levels, describing in detail the circumstances of their relative’s abduction and asking for help in establishing his whereabouts. The applicants retained copies of a number of their complaints and submitted them to the Court. The relevant information is summarised below.
33.  On 9 June 2001 the district prosecutor’s office instituted an investigation into the disappearance of Abdul-Malik Shakhmurzayev under Article 126 § 2 of the Russian Criminal Code (aggravated kidnapping). The case file was assigned no. 19074 (in the submitted documents it is also stated as no. 19127).
34.  On 16 and 25 July 2001 the Chechnya prosecutor’s office forwarded to the district prosecutor’s office letters from the applicants’ relative requesting assistance in the search for Abdul-Malik Shakhmurzayev.
35.  On 21 March 2003 the military prosecutor’s office of a military unit forwarded the request for the search for Abdul-Malik Shakhmurzayev to a number of law enforcement agencies.
36.  On 18 April 2003, 4 December 2003, 2 June 2004, 6 October 2004 and 21 March 2005 the applicants’ representatives repeatedly and unsuccessfully requested information from the district prosecutor’s office. They asked to be informed when the criminal investigation into the abduction had been opened; what number the case file had been given; who had been in charge of the investigation; and whether there had been any progress. In addition, they requested to be informed whether the applicants or their relatives had been granted victim status in the proceedings, whether the authorities had forwarded information requests concerning the whereabouts of Abdul-Malik Shakhmurzayev to various detention facilities and whether the investigation had questioned the eyewitnesses to Abdul-Malik Shakhmurzayev’s abduction.
37. On 6 May 2003 and 8 January 2004 the district prosecutor’s office informed the applicants that the investigation in the criminal case had been suspended owing to the failure to establish the identity of the perpetrators.
38.  On 23 May 2003 the military prosecutor’s office of military unit no. 20102 informed the applicants’ relative that military unit no. 3660 had not conducted any operations in Chechen-Aul in February 2001.
39.  In August 2004 (the date is illegible) the district prosecutor’s office informed the applicants that the investigation in the criminal case had been resumed on 29 July 2004.
40.  On 19 April 2005 the Chechnya prosecutor’s office informed the applicants that they had been duly informed about the progress of the investigation.
41.  In their submission to the Court the Government pointed out that the applicants had complained to the district prosecutor’s office about the abduction of Abdul-Malik Shakhmurzayev only on 7 August 2001.
42.  The Government further stated that on an unspecified date a relative of another person abducted together with Abdul-Malik Shakhmurzayev, Mr Kh.Z., had complained about the abduction to the Special Envoy of the Russian President on Human Rights and Freedoms in Chechnya (the Envoy). On 9 June 2001 the Envoy forwarded this complaint to the district prosecutor’s office. Therefore, on 9 June 2001 the district prosecutor’s office opened criminal case no. 19074.
43.  On 17 June 2001 the investigators requested the ROVD to establish whether any special operations had been conducted by the military or law-enforcement agencies in the vicinity of Chechen-Aul on 8 February 2001.
44.   On 20 or 28 June 2001 the investigators requested the ROVD to question relatives of the abducted men and those residents of Chechen-Aul who might have witnessed the abduction.
45.   On an unspecified date the investigators requested the Grozny department of the FSB and the ROVD to establish whether any law enforcement agencies or military units had been involved in the abduction of the applicants’ relative. They were also requested to establish which units of federal forces had been stationed on the premises of the former canning factory in Gikalo in 2001 and whether Abdul-Malik Shakhmurzayev, Malik Z. and Gilani M. had been taken there.
46.  On an unspecified date the investigators conducted a crime scene examination at the site of the abduction. It does not appear that any evidence was collected from the scene.
47.  According to the responses received from the ROVD, Abdul-Malik Shakhmurzayev, Malik Z. and Gilani M. had not been listed by the authorities as members of illegal armed groups. They had never been prosecuted or detained on criminal or administrative charges; they had not applied for medical assistance and no unidentified corpses with features similar to theirs had been found. The responses also confirmed that a unit of the Internal Troops of the Ministry of the Interior had been stationed on the premises of the former canning factory (see paragraph 30 above).
48.  According to the response received from the Operational-Search Bureau no. 2 of the Main Department of the Ministry of the Interior in the Southern Federal Circuit (Оперативно-Розыскное Бюро-2 Главного Управления по ЮФО МВД РФ), their units had not conducted any special operations in Chechen-Aul and they did not have any information about the whereabouts of the abducted men.
49.  According to the Government, although the investigation had failed to establish the whereabouts of Abdul-Malik Shakhmurzayev and the perpetrators of his abduction, it was still in progress. Additional information requests had been forwarded to various military and law enforcement agencies. The applicants had been duly informed of all decisions taken during the investigation.
50.  Despite specific request by the Court the Government did not disclose any documents from criminal case no. 19074 stating that the investigation was in progress and that disclosure of the documents would be in violation of Article 161 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.